Chapter XXIII: The Astral Labe
The party has just defeated a purple worm for a Tortle in exchange for a pride of saber-toothed tigers. Ormul decides to stay with the Tortle to help him rebuild his crumbling monastery, and to build a rapport with the tigers before bringing them back to Faceless Mountainton. The remainder of the party returns to town and seeks out Huk, the blacksmith. Though he has sustained some injuries in working with the remains of the dragon corpse, he has managed to use craft some acidic arrows and vials of dragon acid for Enna. He also offers to craft some armour out of the remaining dragon scales. After the party reunites with Astorio, Dren announces that he has decided to go to Gleneden to attend college and parts with the party. The party receives a message from The Warden, so Meta teleports the party to his prison. The party notices that security has increased since Channer's escape. A guide leads them to the Warden in his quarters. In his personal library, the Warden tells Metamorpheus of Old Thray, a monolithic empire in which many races worked and lived together. Some unknown event eventually destroyed Old Thray, killing millions and destroying their cities. From the ruins of Old Thray emerged the modern age of Thray, home to disparate races and beasts. The Warden explains that there is a recent interest in artifacts discovered from Old Thray, but dismisses it as a rumour. However, an expedition launched by Lord Charro of Auberth recently found an artefact on the slopes of Old Mount. They believe this device to be a particularly advanced astral labe: a device used for planar travel. The expedition appears to have been attacked by Channer before his capture. They were found dead, en route to The Warden's Prison. The astral labe had apparently been stolen by Channer, but the warden believes he knows where it is. The Warden demonstrates how the astral labe works by transporting the party to the Plateau of Knowledge on the Earth Plane. The Warden had commissioned some librarians to search the plateau for information on Metamorpheus' brother. They discovered a drawing of a man who looks like Metamorpheus, holding the astral labe stolen from the expedition. At Astorio's inquiry, the Warden reveals that time passes more slowly on the Earth plane, relative to Thray, and warns the party not to meddle in it. Metamorpheus and Kristandra tag the plateau with the party's name and the grou returns to The Warden's chamber. The Warden tells the party of a spellcaster, proficient in travelling between planes, whom he has been attempting to apprehend. He believes this spellcaster, whom he refers to as "Omega" is interested in finding the missing astral labe. He wants the party to capture Omega, and gives the party seven sets of manacles and two teleportation scolls. He begins telling the party of the increase security measures after Channer's escape but is interrupted by the entrance of Flynn, who had just snuck into the compound. The party gives Flynn the bag of holding recovered from Channer. Before the party departs, The Warden warns Metamorpheus to kill himself if he is captured to protect the coordinates of the prison's teleportation circle. Metamorpheus teleports the party to field within overgrown ruins on the ocean, with Old Mount on the horizon. The party is near a ruined tower, which Kristandra recalls acts like a subway station for planar travel. Enna spots tracks leading from the teleportation circle to the ruins, and the party approaches the structure and spots a sign reading "The Waypoint of Ascalon" above the doorway, in a fusion of Dwarven and Elven script. Upon entering the building, the party triggers an alarm. They witness kaleidoscopic colours caused by the sunlight filtering through the crystals, and a waterfall originating from the fourth-floor tunnel and draining into the eastern-most room on the ground floor. The party enters the hallway leading to the first of the spherical rooms, but activate a series of levitating and spinning swords. Flynn attempts to dash down the hallway, avoiding the swords, but becomes magically frightened by a rune on the opposite side of the room. Eventually, Metamorpheus and Astorio are able to destroy the rune and proceed into the sphere, where they spot a large ruby gemstone embedded in the ceiling. Astorio pries the gem out of the ceiling and they proceeds into the next hallway. They toss a rope to Enna who has been waiting on the ground floor. She begins climbing but is interrupted by an attack from an air elemental, which the party defeats. Fearful of what traps may await them in the remaining rooms, the party decides to fly up the remainder of the atrium. Kristandra and Metamorpheus begin ascending, carrying the remainder of the party on ropes. They reach the top of the tower, where they find a robed wizard waiting for them on the topmost catwalk. The wizard attempts to dispell the flying magic keeping the party afloat, but Metamorpheus is able to counterspell. Astorio swings to the wall of the tower, and begins to run up. The wizard hits the remainder of the party with chain lightning, knocking Enna and Metamopheus unconscious. Without the spell keeping them airbourne, the party falls 60 feet to the catwalk below. Kristandra channels Terni's power to revive Enna and Metamorpheus, while Flynn approaches the wizard at the entrace to the final room. The party continues to attack the wizard, who briefly banishes Astorio to a grey demiplane. Flynn runs into the hallway leading to the seventh sphere, noticing some a layer that appears to be glass along the surface of the floor. Upon entering the room, Flynn notices a portal in the base of the sphere, and a flail snail on the wall, which has been creating the trail of glass. Outside, the wizard turns invisible and hides, prompting the party to join Flynn in the sphere. Flynn attacks the snail until it retreats into its shell, which Flynn recognizes as very valuable and fruitlessly attempts to cram into the bag of holding. Kristandra attempts to stop Flynn from putting the snail in the bag. They are interrupted by Astorio setting off a sleep trap, which puts Enna, Metamorpheus and Flynn to sleep. Kristandra saves Flynn and the bag of holding from falling into the portal, but heals the snail and allows it to fall through and heals and awakens the party to continue up the tower. Upon entering topmost room of the tower, Metamorpheus recognizes the scene before him as the vision the Aboleth showed him: a workshop, books, alchemy supplies, and a pink crystal coffin containing an apparently dead man that looks identical to Metamorpheus. The wizard confirms that the man is dead and tells Metamorpheus that they are both failed experiments. The party notices time is nearly stopped, though capable of perceiving the events around them. The wizard reveals himself. He is wearing a silver mask and is holding the artifact the party has been seeking. He activates the device and tells Metamorpheus that he is going to die like he was born, as a test subject. The wizard casts a spell, throwing the party into nauseating darkness. When the the world fades back in, the party finds that they remain in the room, but the workshop is gone. Astorio and Metamorpheus appear to be alone in their room, as is Enna in her own empty room.